Fort Lee mayor fears more retaliation from governor

Jan. 9, 2014

Written by

Bob Jordan

@BobJordanAPP

Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich is getting the last word in his dispute with Gov. Chris Christie’s administration over the George Washington Bridge lane closings that choked traffic in Sokolich’s town.

“David Wildstein deserves an ass-kicking. There, I said it,’’ Sokolich said as a guest on “All In” With Chris Hayes on MSNBC Wednesday night.

Wildstein was Christie’s appointee to the Port Authority but quit when lawmakers started investigating the September incident — apparently orchestrated to punish Sokolich, a Democrat, for failing to endorse the Republican governor’s reelection bid.

Wildstein appears to be a leader of the plot, although lawmakers who are investigating are pressing to find out what Christie knew and when he knew it. Wildstein quit his job when the inquiry began.

When e-mails and text messages involving three Christie advisers became public and showed a link to the administration, Sokolich said his first reaction was “disbelief.”

“Who would close down lanes to the busiest bridge in the world to get to me?” he said. “I’ve never viewed myself as being that important. The governor himself said that I’m not on his radar.”

In a later interview with Wolf Blitzer on CNN, Sokolich said he is glad he stuck to his guns and didn’t back Christie’s re-election bid.

He said he worries about retaliation by the Christie camp in the future, when the media spotlight fades.

“My problem is, when it goes away, what happens to my community? That’s my problem,” Sokolich said. “And I’ve said it since day one, I am very, very fearful of ramifications in the future, quite frankly.”